umm, why is this dumbass?

I'm just going to assume that the tag is for Axl.

Gene might be a money grubbing whore who wouldn't know decent music if it bit him on the ass, but it's kind of hard to disagree with him here. WTF subby?

Simmons has become the world biggest pompous ass. Dude, you were in a band for kids, shut your pie hole. You haven't been relevant in 30 years, even if you are right.

Since when were rock stars on the clock? come on, its showmanship.

Go to bed, its past your bedtime Gene

El Freak: Gene might be a money grubbing whore who wouldn't know decent music if it bit him on the ass, but it's kind of hard to disagree with him here. WTF subby?

^
What he said.

Yeah it sucks to wait an hour for GnR to take to the stage but it makes it all the sweeter when they do show up. Plus it gives more time to get drunkered.

sullyman: Simmons has become the world biggest pompous ass. Dude, you were in a band for kids, shut your pie hole. You haven't been relevant in 30 years, even if you are right.

He's a philanthropist and a pretty good dad. From and article in People Magazine last year:

KISS bassist Gene Simmons recently asserted he will not allow his children, Nick, 18, and Sophie, 15, to live off his fortune. The fifty-eight year old rock star wants his children to make their own money and have careers, as opposed to living off the millions he earned with KISS.

"What I wanna do is what every bird does in its nest -- it forces the kids to go out there and figure it out for themselves.

By the way, in terms of an inheritance and stuff, they're gonna be taken care of, but they will never be rich off my money. Because every year they should be forced to get up out of bed and go out and work and make their own way."

Alice Cooper is another great old rock star. He lives just up the street from me, actually. He's a HUGE supporter of music education in Arizona and gives lots of money to public school music programs. In general, he's really an all-around good guy.

These people ARE still relevant because they're giving back to their communities and their fans.

Gene Simmons is right. He's also an asswad of the highest magnitude.

...broken clocks, and all that.

Didn't he have two whole episodes of his show about him not showing up on time for a show in Vegas?

I can completely agree with the professionalism aspect of the argument. However, there's something to be said about not starting the show when there's still people outside waiting to get in. Of course, that's something a promoter, venue, and band can decide on before actually booking the gig. It's financially better for all parties involved to get people in the venue, and get them drinking. It's better for booze sales, it's better for people enjoying the show, and it's better for merchandise sales. But waiting too long can backfire, especially if there's a curfew or the venue is going to close. Then there's almost no time to sell merchandise and the band loses money.

Guns 'n' Roses is one of the most overblown bands in rock history. I've never seen a band get so far from a career containing one good debut album.

Slaxl: Yeah it sucks to wait an hour for GnR to take to the stage but it makes it all the sweeter when they do show up. Plus it gives more time to get drunkered.

And to smoke more of the weed you smuggled in your shoe.

the_be_sharps: I can completely agree with the professionalism aspect of the argument. However, there's something to be said about not starting the show when there's still people outside waiting to get in. Of course, that's something a promoter, venue, and band can decide on before actually booking the gig. It's financially better for all parties involved to get people in the venue, and get them drinking. It's better for booze sales, it's better for people enjoying the show, and it's better for merchandise sales. But waiting too long can backfire, especially if there's a curfew or the venue is going to close. Then there's almost no time to sell merchandise and the band loses money.

This, and also: Who wants to listen to music from bands thats are always ON TIME? Who are they? Boy scouts?

I hear the Jonas Brothers are pretty ponctual, u know?

fark that

I agree with Gene. It makes me hurt a bit to say that, and I'm a devoted KISS fan.

an opening act for the foo fighters back in the day did that. 2 farking hour delay, and he sucked. we just wanted his ass off the stage so foo could get out. i wann say it was bryan adams.

HappyHarryHardOn: the_be_sharps: I can completely agree with the professionalism aspect of the argument. However, there's something to be said about not starting the show when there's still people outside waiting to get in. Of course, that's something a promoter, venue, and band can decide on before actually booking the gig. It's financially better for all parties involved to get people in the venue, and get them drinking. It's better for booze sales, it's better for people enjoying the show, and it's better for merchandise sales. But waiting too long can backfire, especially if there's a curfew or the venue is going to close. Then there's almost no time to sell merchandise and the band loses money.

This, and also: Who wants to listen to music from bands thats are always ON TIME? Who are they? Boy scouts?

I hear the Jonas Brothers are pretty ponctual, u know?

fark that

This from a guy who hates properly tuned guitars.

;)

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Even a crocken block is tight rice a dway.

Despite the Krusty the Clown level of merchandising, KISS do take their music seriously and put on a good show. Maybe that's why he's been able to play simplistic three chord crotch rock for 34 years while other bands have fallen by the wayside.

GurneyHalleck: Guns 'n' Roses is one of the most overblown bands in rock history. I've never seen a band get so far from a career containing one good debut album.



I think I can.

We were forced to play at 1am at our own CD release show once. It's one thing for the main band to be a bit late, but it's something else when the support band refuses to go on till 11.

And of course Gene knows a b--ch when he sees one. Axl better not drop the soap with Gene around...

Holy crap. I think the 7th Seal just broke. I'm actually agreeing with something Gene Simmons said.

For all his asshattery, I have to respect GS for being honest, even when that
makes him look like a grubby greedy old man.

I worked on an anime convention who had a headlining band who was a big thing
in Japan. These pretentious assholes spent 3 hours soundchecking a 90
minute set because they forgot to bring the right power converters on
their tour. They kept 800+ people waiting (many of whom had come to this
convention only for their show), made absolutely unreasonable last minute
demands and generally acted like they were actually worth all the trouble.

They are in the middle of a lawsuit over the use of their Japanese name,
and I hope to high heaven they lose and crash and burn because of it.
The most unprofessional performance I've ever seen.

KISS sucks now, and they've always sucked. Sure, they have a fire and brimstone show that would put Great White to shame, but their music and lyrics have always sucked.

Well, except Ace, but he's dead. :P

At first I was wondering why that gay exercise guy was giving a big F.U. to Axl, but I was thinking of Richard Simmons. That would have been awesome.

Xythero: At first I was wondering why that gay exercise guy was giving a big F.U. to Axl, but I was thinking of Richard Simmons. That would have been awesome.

Gene Simmons and Richard Simmons? There's a TV show that needs to happen.

Waited over an hour for STP last summer...I lost 37.50 in the OD pool.

I agree with Gene. Unless half the crowd is standing outside waiting to get in, you owe it to the audience to start on time, especially venues with a curfew.

irockalot: GurneyHalleck: Guns 'n' Roses is one of the most overblown bands in rock history. I've never seen a band get so far from a career containing one good debut album.



I think I can.

I was trying to think of a better one...but this...This is tough to beat.

A friend worked on the GnR tour last year. Axl Rose was hated by just about everyone on the crew. You see, coming on two hours late at 11pm delayed the set breakdown by two hours. The deadline to get to the next venue and load in the stage doesn't change just cos Axl farking Rose came on stage late the previous night, so they have two hours less each night to get to the next venue and get set up.

He's a first class twat.

danduran: We were forced to play at 1am at our own CD release show once. It's one thing for the main band to be a bit late, but it's something else when the support band refuses to go on till 11.

I booked and promoted bands for about five years. The opening act, a touring band, always just knows that someone is going to show up to see them.

"It's only 10:30. More people are going to show up."

"Well you can play now, or you can play at 2:30. I turn the lights on and start sweeping up at 2:45."

"Do you have another power strip? We'll be ready in 5 minutes."

It's always this or "Hey, how come only 20 people came to our show? I mean, we're a group of five unknown indie touring bands playing an illegal loft venue on a Tuesday, I don't get it?"

And I'm all "Here's your 12$."

Captain_Fantastic: irockalot: GurneyHalleck: Guns 'n' Roses is one of the most overblown bands in rock history. I've never seen a band get so far from a career containing one good debut album.



I think I can.

I was trying to think of a better one...but this...This is tough to beat.



yes, one album, it made them huge stars. It just so happened that they went on to make 5 or 6 amazing follow up albums.

sullyman your a douche, shut your pie hole

was expecting to see the hero tag on this, was SHOCKED to see a dumbass tag

ask anyone who was at bonnaroo about Kayne taking the stage "on time"....that guy is the world's biggest douche

Tr0mBoNe: Slaxl: Yeah it sucks to wait an hour for GnR to take to the stage but it makes it all the sweeter when they do show up. Plus it gives more time to get drunkered.

And to smoke more of the weed you smuggled in your shoe.

mmmmmmmm shoe weed

GurneyHalleck: Guns 'n' Roses is one of the most overblown bands in rock history. I've never seen a band get so far from a career containing one good debut album.

ummm, how many debut albums can you have as a band?

GnR? Didn't they used to be a band?

I hate waiting for the bands. It pisses me off that I paid $60 for a ticket and they don't have enough respect to at least try to come out on stage on time.

Here's the downside of Gene's philosophy:

Kiss goes onstage every night at the proper time. But they also go OFFSTAGE at 10:30, every night -- because going past that runs into golden time and you don't cost Gene Simmons any money.

Why is that bad? Because every show is scripted, every set list is the same, and there is never any "this is a great audience, let's give them one more". EVER. It's a business event, not an exciting "I wonder what will happen?" rock performance.

So Axl is a douche because he is a psycho, and Gene is a douche over money.

Take your pick.

The Dynamite Monkey: Here's the downside of Gene's philosophy:

Kiss goes onstage every night at the proper time. But they also go OFFSTAGE at 10:30, every night -- because going past that runs into golden time and you don't cost Gene Simmons any money.

Why is that bad? Because every show is scripted, every set list is the same, and there is never any "this is a great audience, let's give them one more". EVER. It's a business event, not an exciting "I wonder what will happen?" rock performance.

So Axl is a douche because he is a psycho, and Gene is a douche over money.

Take your pick.

I agree with you about the downside of rock musicians starting and ending on time and scripted shows managed with the efficiency of Swiss trains. When I started going to concerts in the late 70's, bands NEVER started on time but you never knew how long they would play. Half an hour to an hour late seemed about standard.

One time, the Grateful Dead didn't come on for two hours after the posted start and only then announced they were going to cancel the concert because "Jerry was in an oxygen tent". (Had they been expecting a last minute revival or did someone just forget to cancel the show?) That one pissed me off.

Sometimes I heard about bands playing for less than an hour. (I remember hearing that about Jackson Browne.) If they felt bad and quit after a short show, the fans felt ripped off.

Sometimes bands played for three or four hours. (Zeppelin and Springsteen did.) If they kept going and shouted about "playing all night", you really felt like you were at something amazing.

Encores were not obligatory two-songs then turn on the house lights. The lights would stay down until the audience stopped clapping. Audiences had to be loud if they expected bands to come back out. Some bands didn't come back at all if there wasn't enough applause. Some came back for a third and fourth encore. I remember one time the applause continued for five minutes with no sign of the band and then they announced the band had already left the building. (Genesis I think.)

Good times. Good times.

Gene Simmons should have charged all those women $10 a go to ride his penis, then he wouldn't have to sell KISS brand chewing gum and dolls to bolster his insecurities regarding his business acumen and sideshow tendencies.

Was his dad a carnie or what? He has spent his whole life pretending to be a monster and selling crap.

ecmoRandomNumbers: sullyman: Simmons has become the world biggest pompous ass. Dude, you were in a band for kids, shut your pie hole. You haven't been relevant in 30 years, even if you are right.

He's a philanthropist and a pretty good dad. From and article in People Magazine last year:

KISS bassist Gene Simmons recently asserted he will not allow his children, Nick, 18, and Sophie, 15, to live off his fortune. The fifty-eight year old rock star wants his children to make their own money and have careers, as opposed to living off the millions he earned with KISS.

"What I wanna do is what every bird does in its nest -- it forces the kids to go out there and figure it out for themselves.

By the way, in terms of an inheritance and stuff, they're gonna be taken care of, but they will never be rich off my money. Because every year they should be forced to get up out of bed and go out and work and make their own way."

Alice Cooper is another great old rock star. He lives just up the street from me, actually. He's a HUGE supporter of music education in Arizona and gives lots of money to public school music programs. In general, he's really an all-around good guy.

These people ARE still relevant because they're giving back to their communities and their fans.

I heard Alice Cooper became an extraordinary golfer while fighting off his alcoholism. His wife would make him get up and out of bed every morning at the break of dawn. When allowed to sleep in, he would start drinking in bed and would eventually crawl out of bed hammered around noon. His wife would kick him out of the house in the morning to make him do anything but drink. Since there wasn't much to do in the early morning, he started taking up golfing.

So the story goes.

I prefer bands who don't mind changing their sets up from show to show. There is more legitimate interaction with the crowd. I've seen bands that end up playing an hour extra because the vibe and enthusiasm was perfect.

I would expect Axl to be on stage around 9.

/on the bus about 11.

Hypocrite.

PYROY: I would expect Axl to be on stage around 9.

/on the bus about 11.

Excellent

danduran: We were forced to play at 1am at our own CD release show once. It's one thing for the main band to be a bit late, but it's something else when the support band refuses to go on till 11.

The way to solve that problem is to go to the pussies that are holding things up and tell them that if they don't get on stage, you're going to go out as the headliner, rock your shiat, then everybody who came to see you will leave afterwards and they can have what's left.

The Dynamite Monkey: Here's the downside of Gene's philosophy:

Kiss goes onstage every night at the proper time. But they also go OFFSTAGE at 10:30, every night -- because going past that runs into golden time and you don't cost Gene Simmons any money.

Why is that bad? Because every show is scripted, every set list is the same, and there is never any "this is a great audience, let's give them one more". EVER. It's a business event, not an exciting "I wonder what will happen?" rock performance.

So Axl is a douche because he is a psycho, and Gene is a douche over money.

Take your pick.

THIS.

Saw GNR in London (Ontario), where they played a two & a half hour show in one hell of a snowstorm (most insane concert drive I've ever had)... went all the way past 2am, they paid a HUGE fine to play that late but you didn't see them biatching about it.

On the flipside, saw Tool two summers ago, they started right on time and half the place missed the first two songs due to long lines (no issue with the band on this one, the venue staff are the ones that blew it, and two songs from Tool is like 30 mins!).

Boo farking hoo Gene. When the hell did Rock n' Roll become about professionalism? Methinks Simmons has spent too much time in the marketing world...

Fukkin' A, Gene. We always start on time, I like the bands I see to start on time, otherwise make the tickets say "sometime Friday night whenever the band comes down enough to play."

HappyHarryHardOn: Since when were rock stars on the clock? come on, its showmanship.

Go to bed, its past your bedtime Gene

I'd agree witht the "showmanship" argument if a band is an hour late. 4-5 hours late is a dick move.